Cross-Functional Collaboration and Influencing Skills Training

Managers increasingly need to work across departments and influence colleagues without having direct authority over them. This programme develops the communication, collaboration, stakeholder management and influencing skills required to achieve shared objectives across organisational boundaries. Key areas include stakeholder analysis, communication planning, expectation management, responsibility alignment, resource negotiation, conflict resolution and collaborative problem-solving. Participants work through realistic cross-functional scenarios, such as departments competing for resources, disagreements over ownership, conflicting objectives and projects requiring support from multiple teams. Through interactive exercises, participants learn how to understand different stakeholder priorities, identify areas of common interest and build practical agreements around shared outcomes. The programme also explores the difference between positional authority and genuine influence, highlighting the importance of credibility, professional judgement, communication and trust. Participants apply the techniques to real cross-functional challenges within their organisations and develop practical collaboration strategies. The programme aims to reduce communication barriers, improve coordination and enable managers to achieve stronger business outcomes through effective collaboration across teams.